Nintendo finally reveals the Switch console

I’m excited for the switch, but the games lineup announced so far is too bare bones for me to justify the $300 price tag for the next year. If E3 has some omg amazing announcements with release dates end of summer then I’ll pick one up then, but I’m doubting that. Until then I’ll just keep trudging along with my 3ds as I try to decide if I should hold off on Zelda until I end up buying a switch or just get it for the Wii U (and thus remove one game I do want to play on the switch).

That is the thing though, it is impossible to argue past the fact of, why don’t they just let you keep it? You paid them the monthly fee, why can’t you keep the game? There is no reason to subscribe if you don’t get to keep the game. Why would I ever subscribe? The whole point of PS plus is building up that catalog that will be lost if you don’t pay your monthly fee. It keeps me subscribed, even if I don’t play online PS4 games more than once or twice a month. I have built up a value there.

Plus, we are talking about rom files that they have been hawking for years and years, and you can’t just give them up to subscribers, even at a tiny one per month ratio? If you look at other services, they have to cut deals with other publishers and pay them to get their games on the ps plus / games with gold service. Nintendo has the entire rights to a huge majority of what they will be offering.

Now, if they told me, the service was 5 bucks a month, but I had access to the entire VC library…

Take my money.

The best way to have more gamers is to have my nephews play with me on a Nintendo console. All the kids are into tablets. My nephew didn’t even know what a 3DS was when we purchased it for him for Christmas. Local MP is a must, but for me to really go all in, I need a robust online component to play with adults and those games are typically meaty enough to need good controllers.

Some of my favorite franchises are with Nintendo. If they didn’t mess up the Switch, I’ll pick it up when a game I really want is actually released on it. That never happened with Wii U.

This also looks not comfortable to use:

but like other say, the 3DS has significant uneven weight at the top this wouldn’t have so maybe the claw clutch won’t destroy our hands.

Zelda Breath of the Wild. In a statement provided to IGN, Nintendo explained the following “key facts” about each version:

  • Both launch on the same day, March 3.
  • Both have a frame rate of 30fps.
  • Both versions of the game offer the same content.
  • On a TV, the Nintendo Switch version of the game renders in 900p while the Wii U version renders in 720p.
  • The Nintendo Switch version has higher-quality environmental sounds. As a result, the sound of steps, water, grass, etc. are more realistic and enhance the game’s Open-Air feel.
  • The physical copy of the Wii U version will require 3GB of available memory on the Wii U system or an external drive.
  • Some icons, such as onscreen buttons, differ between the two versions.
  • A Special Edition and Master Edition of the Wii U version are not available.

Honestly I can’t remember ever being excited for a consoles launch line up. By default I wait a year at least for software to catch up to a new console.

Yeah if it was $60 a year for online and access to the entire VC catalog, that would be tempting and possibly even system seller. A game or two for a month…meh.

That may be but for me what’s extremely compelling is the use case, as I’ve always wanted (and failed) to be able to use my Wii U gamepad in bed and I love commuting with my 3ds but the resolution is so low and aliased.

That’s why I pre-ordered the switch, and then promptly cancelled it.

The biggest thing Nintendo has made me want is a full fledged PC with the Switch form factor.

These differences sound insignificant enough that I’ll probably download a copy on day one for my WiiU. I’d prefer to see a recent WiiU vid though to compare lighting etc, since the one from six months ago still looked pretty bad compared to the recent Switch footage.

Unfortunately, I don’t think either version will ever support anti-aliasing for all those shimmering edges and grass.

I wasn’t too excited for the game until that most recent trailer during the Switch re-reveal a couple days ago. That and the recent Switch gameplay footage make the game seem much more polished than last year. And that trailer was fantastic.

That one also struggled to maintain 30fps, whereas the one seen on Switch looks relatively smooth.

It’s pretty dispiriting that the Switch, even plugged into the dock, can’t do Zelda at 1080p/30. It really seems to be stuck in an uncomfortable middle ground - not powerful enough as a home console, not enough battery life for a handheld, and too much expensive controller tech that’s mainly going to be used for gimmicks and mini-games. I really hope 3DS style games, but with, say, Wii-U level graphics, end up closer to 6 hours battery than 3 hours.

I was interested in the console - somewhat - but after looking a bit around, I just can’t figure what the console is supposed to cost (everywhere there is talk of extra or not extra bits and stuff, with some weird marketing naming policies that confuses me even more), nor do I understand what the electric autonomy of the different bits is supposed to be. This looks very micromanagey and unintuitive for a company that used to sell an all-in-one compact 8bits console, an aspect of it which, to me, was part of its brilliance. I was looking forward to a simplified home offer, but this seems to be heading into Wii territories, and the more info they release, the less I am actually feeling informed.

It’s all out there (other than the price of the online service). What exactly are you unclear on?

It is simplified. There’s the Nintendo Switch, and it comes in two colours. Both are the same price. That’s it. :/

The only thing I am sure is that the controllers bundled with the console don’t charge.
What are those controllers, what model would i need to play Mario in multiplayer with comfort, the pro versions? Do I need the charging grip to not worry about them running out of juice? How can I play and charge them if that happens? If the console act as a charger, what happens in the dock? What do I do if I buy more of those controllers; will I need multiple usb chargers on the ready? One for each half? I don’t understand the separate docks either. One site I read was claiming it was a “comfort”, but not required.
Anyway, it’s just a bunch of questions whose answers I tried to look up online, and what I went away with was that senescence must be getting hold of me, because I was really, really downed by the process.

Mario in multiplayer?

People say the individual joycons are actually surprisingly comfortable, but obviously, it’s probably wise to see for yourself. If you want to play multiplayer non-motion games, then it’s probably a good idea to pick up a pro controller (especially if you want a real d-pad). Nintendo says 20 hours battery life for the joycons, so no, you don’t need the charging grip. You can play and charge by taking the tablet out of the dock and attaching the controllers, or you can buy the charge grip. No, you won’t need multiple chargers. Charge one set on the tablet and use the other.

The dock provides power to the tablet and video out to the TV. Separate docks are just so you can plug the Switch into multiple TVs without faffing around with cables and such.

Well as there is a huge Mario fan in the house, so we were holding to the belief Super Mario Odyssey will have multiplayer of sort. Is it totally out of question?

I don’t want to sound too obtuse (I may be, because I haven’t had a single unwired console; my last console were the first Xbox and a Wii for which we had diligently bought some really horrible, but wired, controllers), so hear my anxiety toward unwired stuff!), although charging taking the console out of the dock (and thus, using its power) sounded a bit… absurd. But in the context of my own dumbness: I had thought the controllers shared a similar battery life as the main console (5-6 hours claimed). Duh…
With 20 hours, that’d be the biggest concern out of the picture in my case - and solving about all of them at once.
Thank you for the answers!

Though you need a dock to connect to a TV, you can’t do it with cables. Pretty sure USB-C to HDMI adapter wouldn’t work, at least not optimally, since it wouldn’t provide power.

None of the 3D Marios have had meaningful multiplayer yet, if you don’t count stuff like the star collecting in Galaxy, so I’d be surprised. There was also no hint of it in the trailer. Not 100% out of the question though, and I’m sure there will be some kind of toddler play-along mode.

Yes, indeed. I thought the comment was referring to the docks that Nintendo is selling separately. There’s no reason to buy one if you only plan on using the Switch on one TV (or don’t mind moving the dock that comes with it).

So the Switch dock is basically a cut-down one of these, with a single USB port?